Protecting cables and conduits from being driven over by heavy equipment at construction, excavation, mining, drilling and fracking sites is a common problem. One can envision the damage caused by repeatedly driving over important cables and conduits with heavy equipment such as large trucks, excavators, flat beds and the like. One particular danger is the risk that high pressure conduits, such as nitrogen conduits, might rupture due to the damage caused by being driven over with heavy equipment. On the other hand, it is also important on job sites to maintain access to cables and conduits so that they may be quickly repaired, replaced, moved or rerouted as needed.
Many solutions have been proposed that protect cables and conduits from the damage caused by being driven over while at the same time allowing access to the cables and conduits. The simplest of these is to lay sections of metal, plastic or other rigid material over the cables and conduits. One such system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,202,565 to Henry (“U.S. '565”). To gain access to the cables and conduits an entire section of the rigid material must be removed.
A similar approach is proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,878,811 to Henry (“U.S. '811”) which discloses a modular cable protector assembly comprised of side ramps, tunnel members and tunnel connectors. The tunnel member and tunnel connector of each individual modular section in U.S. '811 are individual components which require assembly at each section.
Another solution proposed in the prior art is to encase the cables and conduits in a box made of a rigid material that can be driven over by heavy equipment without damaging the cables and conduits.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,822 to Martin (“U.S. '822”) discloses one such box system comprised of modular sections comprising a solid body of elastomeric material with ramps on opposing sides. The box of U.S. '822 is not covered where the cables are placed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,777,266 to Herman et al. (“U.S. '266”) discloses a modular cable protection system comprised of sections of molded plastic material which encase electrical cables, fluid hoses and data cables and can be interlocked to form an entire cable protection system. Once in place, ramps are connected to the edge of each section of the box using a male and female connector to allow equipment to drive over the box.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,448,497 to McCracken et al. (“U.S. '497”) discloses a device for housing cables and conduits comprised of interconnectable channel members formed of pliable elastomers each of which contain a number of small channels where the cables or conduits are disposed. U.S. '497 further discloses removable cover members that fit over the interconnectable channel members. The removable cover member is screwed into the interconnectable channel member as shown in FIG. 3 of U.S. '497.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,499,410 to Berardi (“U.S. '410”) discloses a cable crossover protector with an illumination device. The cable crossover protector of U.S. '410 has a flat lid and a solid bottom.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,309,836 to Lubanski (“U.S. '836”) discloses a ramp system for protecting cables with a plurality of channels extending between the opposing ends of the ramps. The ramps and channels of each modular section of U.S. '836 come as separate pieces which must be assembled on site.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,394,025 to Wong (“U.S. '025”) discloses an apparatus for protecting cables from traffic damage comprising a plurality of double-ended protectors interconnected by flexible connector structures. Each double-ended protector in U.S. '025 has a single, small channel for cables to run through, and a cover is then placed over the channel.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,939,759 to Henry (“U.S. '759”) discloses a cable protector with a main recessed channel and a lid where a plurality of dividers are inserted into the main recessed channel to form a plurality of smaller channels for cables to be inserted into. In U.S. '759 the lid is a flat lid and the dividers serve the additional purpose of strengthening the lid.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,119,914 to Lubanski (“U.S. '914”) discloses a cable protector comprised of a channel member, and a plurality of channels. The channel member has a solid bottom and the plurality of channels are covered by a flat lid.
There exists a need for a cable and conduit protection system which is strong enough to withstand being driven over by heavy equipment, provides sufficient protection against dirt, debris and other elements and allows for easy access to the cables and conduits protected therein.